Next-Gen FIFA 14: Is It The Ultimate Version?

Finally, we can talk about FIFA on next-gen consoles. Until now EA has been fairly circumspect with regards to its newer, shinier version of FIFA 14. That's understandable, really. Why give players a reason to wait?

But with FIFA 14 now out on PS3 and Xbox 360, the focus can now shift. After playing a full-build of the game for a few hours, it's safe to say this isn't a huge leap forward or a total reinvention of the series that some might be expecting. Why would it be? Part of FIFA's tremendous success is undoubtedly predicated upon its continuity and the way it's refined a formula over many iterations. It would be foolish to start again from scratch, not to mention confusing to its loyal audience.

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Instead, next-gen FIFA is what you'd want – it's a visually appealing, atmospheric, varied embodiment of an already great game. And unlike previous entries in the series that have awkwardly straddled console generations, it's fully featured. The wealth of modes, from Ultimate Team to Skill Games, have found their way to next-gen version. This isn't a repeat of what happened with the Wii U version a year ago, this is still FIFA 14.Underpinning the new game is EA's brand new Ignite engine. Earlier in the year, I spoke with Andrew Wilson – then head of EA Sports, now CEO of the entire company – about the technology. The idea was for Ignite to be EA Sport's equivalent of Frostbite – that is, a way to harness innovation from teams working across many different sports titles. So Madden, for instance, could benefit from a new featured pioneered by the FIFA team, and so on. And so FIFA 14 finds itself in a slightly unenviable position. It's the first game to use the engine, so in terms of what it's doing it isn't light years ahead of what you've already played, but the potential still definitely shines through.

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Probably the most impactful element was simply the look of the game. Running in 1080p at 60fps, it's fair to say I've never seen FIFA look so fast, fluid, or graceful. This isn't just down to improved player likenesses or some pretty particle effects. The additional memory of next-gen has allowed for hundreds of new animations, bringing that all important element of variety to the game. Players will pass the ball, as they've always done, but now there are multiple animations to represent that single action. And that applies for every aspect of a player's movement. Indeed, there are loads of new animations that previous FIFA's just didn't have enough space to accommodate.

A good example of this is the through ball. Previous FIFAs, perhaps surprisingly, didn't contain a unique animation for playing a through ball – it repurposed another type of pass and kind of fudged it. But no more – that additional space permits multiple, situation-specific animations, so a match unfolds with a previously unachievable fluidity.

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Your eye doesn't get snagged on animations when they're repeated, and it's this deep variation that really makes FIFA 14 look like a much more lively game.

Players also have more self-awareness than ever before, which again contributes towards the illusion of reality. EA threw out stats like each player is capable of four times the calculations, which manifests as anticipation and more human-like reactions. I noticed this both off and on the ball. While defending I found that I was winning the ball back much more in open play – it was a case of applying pressure and lunging in. Players definitely have better positional awareness. When attacking this manifests as the ability to weather a challenge. If someone goes to ground, your player will react by hurdling the tackle, trying to stay on their feet. This doesn't make tackling impossible – it's just no longer the default way of taking back possession.

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Editor. You can be part of the world's most embarrassing cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.